Blood Junction

India Kane #1

by Caroline Carver, C.J. Carver

Winner of the CWA Debut Dagger, CJ Carver's debut thriller is a dark and gripping story set in a town with a pitch-dark legacy of blood.

Journalist India Kane's trip to the Australian outback takes a horrifying turn when she arrives in the town of Cooinda to find that her best friend Lauren is missing.

Seemingly no one knows what has happened to her, but it's not long before India finds herself arrested for a double murder that she didn't commit, caught up in the dark past of a small town hiding a devastating truth - one that could destroy a family, a friendship, and a nation.

Set in the unforgiving landscape of the Australian outback, Blood Junction won the CWA's Debut Dagger and is CJ Carver's powerful and compulsive thriller about a woman on the run from a brutal killer, as well as from her own past.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Australia, Fiction, Romance

346 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Caroline Carver is now writing under the name C.J. Carver and her books have been re-published here.

Reviews

[Loena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik was aangenaam verrast door dit boek. Omdat het weinig bekend is en nauwelijks recensies heeft, wist ik niet goed wat te verwachten. Al snel bleek het een meeslepende thriller: een tikkende tijdbom die je in één ruk uitleest. India Kane onderzoekt de moord op haar vriendin, maar stuit daarbij op een nog veel groter probleem: diepgeworteld racisme tegenover Aboriginals. Een spannende pageturner met een scherpe maatschappelijke ondertoon.

[Kirsty Darbyshire]

I picked this up to read a couple of chapters in the bath. Then I found myself halfway through and the bath water was cold. I think that means that I'm finding it a pretty captivating story so far.

India Kane's car breaks down in the outback when she's on her way to meet her best friend. She gets a ride into a small outback town and is almost immediately arrested for the murders of both her best friend and the man who picked her up on the road.

Carver seems like a good writer so far; both the settings and the characters seem real though I'm finding the names confusing -- she has at least a Jeremy, a Jerome and a Jed (who might be one of the first two) and she also switches from using first names to using surnames when you haven't quite got the hang of them. The plot has echoes of Sara Paretsky as everything seems to tie back to corruption within the local big industry. On a first half showing this is good stuff.

Two of the criticisms I have heard about this book are that there are too many coincidences and that there are some plot believability problems. Now I've finished the book I can see where the plot believability concerns come from. Part of the ending of the book is a stretch of scientific credulity. I wasn't too bothered by it, this is fiction after all, though I'd have liked a little more feasible scientific explanation to back up the story. On the coincidence count, I may have missed something but most of the possible coincidences I saw were well explained by the story.

I found the plot a bit outsize for the book (which may just be my way of dealing with the believability problems) but on the whole I found it solid and I enjoyed the book. I don't know if Carver plans to write more books about India or if she plans to leave this as a standalone book but I plan to watch out for whatever she writes next.

[Kerry Summerton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book with my credibility factor firmly suspended. It would appear that in the outback you can get arrested and slung in jail on the flimsiest of evidence and people can sneak food into your jail cell as well!!! Im afraid I just could not believe the plot or the high incidence of coincidence and although it was ok as a light read I felt the Aboriginal element could have been handled better and at times felt I was reading an old fashioned Mills and Boon he hates her she hates him scenario but we all know how it will end up!!! I felt very little sympathy with the main character and very little connection with the storyline. All in all a disappointing read and I dont think I will be bothering with the sequal.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I have says the author is Caroline carver so until I logged it on here I didn’t realise this was c j carver, but it was a good story. There was a lot happening and when it all came together at the end I had to think about it for a while to make sure I really understood everything! I have seen reviews on here saying it’s a bit far fetched but I have read other books that have these small towns in the middle of nowhere where everybody knows everybody else’s business and law and order is a bit lax so I found it believable, whether it is true to real life though I have no idea!

[Laraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-41/2 star read. I discovered Caroline Carver recently and am now determined to read all her books. This book is the first of her two India Kane series. India is a journalist who returns to her home country of Australia and becomes enmeshed in a story in the Outback. When her friend and another person are murdered, India is arrested for the deed and has to try to figure out who killed them and why. This leads to a much bigger story with much adventure along the way. A real page turner.

[Becky Leier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blood Junction was a intriguing read. India Kane travels to the Outback desert town known as Blood Junction, she is implicated in two murders. Now trying to find answers to the crimes, she begins to trust a ex-cop who has been out casted. Have to say this kept me going, wandering what was going on. It takes on tell about the last 100 pages from the end of the book for things to start coming together. This book has a unique heroine and rich atmosphere.

[Macarena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Debo reconocer que me engancho desde el principio. Un libro, donde la accion nunca decae, corremos con India durante todo el libro y nos vamos asombrando de sus descubrimientos.
Fue el primer libro de esta autora, y sin duda un debut buenisimo.
Un libro corto, que se lee en un suspiro y mas cuando la accion se mantiene siempre.

[Laieta1705 · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first thriller! It kept me on my toes until the very last page, and it's an exciting and misterious novel. It envolves a lot of charachters and plots, so i had to go back and recheck some things but it's an amazing book with a strong and independent female main character.

[Deborah McHugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Explosively gripping

Carved out it all in this book! Tense,thrilling, and a little Aboriginal history. Love, love this book. Read through the night. A great ride.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced, enthralling work. Carvery keeps you guessing. The nice heredity twists and turns are great. A true who-done-it with lots of tension.

[Ian Bannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, couldn't put it down! I already bought the next two books in the series:)

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a first in a series - it was very readable with likeable characters. I look forward to the 2nd book.

[c s dowgill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read thriller

[Caroline Carey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy to read but an implausible plot line …not an author I will read again.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the beginning of the story, the reader becomes aware of the horrific manner in which the area got its name. Forty years ago, an entire family of Aborigines were massacured at this spot. Thereafter, the area became known as Blood Junction.

In the present day, reporter India Kane travels to this outback area in Australia to meet her friend, Lauren, for a mini vacation. India's car breaks down in a desolute part of the desert and she gets a ride into town from Terence Dunn.

The next morning, while at breakfast, the police storm in and arrest her for the murder of Dunn and her friend Lauren. After being arrested, the police attempt to coerce a confession through barbaric methods. Indie maintains her innocence and is finally permitted to leave the jail after a stranger posts bail.

After she has been released, India, former policeman, Mickey Johnson and Det. Jeremy Whitelaw, an Aborigine, investigate the killings.

Through the complex plot and with many suspects, the story is revealed that a scheme is at work to eliminate the entire Aborigine race. Although hard to believe, the author provides such facts in a manner that makes the scenario believable.

The hunt for the killers is tense and keeps the reader at seat's edge. We also learn that there is a secret of why India was asked to come to this area. This secret centers on much of the story.

I enjoyed the plot and the author's description of the land and people. India is an interesting character, brave and determined. Mickey Johnson was also a refreshing character.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carver deftly weaves Australian history and the plight of the Aborigines through a modern tale of murder, conspiracy and racism in this, her first novel.
India Kane is taking a vacation from her journalism job in London to return to her childhood home of Australia. She is meeting a friend who has uncovered some of India’s long-lost relatives. Just as she arrives in the remote outback town in which she is to meet her friend, she is suddenly arrested for murder. What she uncovers while investigating her friend’s death might get her killed as well.
It was difficult to connect with these characters in the beginning of the book. India can sometimes seem abrasive and caustic, snapping at people who are trying to help and not letting anyone get close to her, but we soon learn there are some good reasons for her to behave this way. Unfortunately, her investigative companion and possible love interest comes off as irritating and rude at first, which doesn’t help to hold the reader’s interest. Fortunately the plot is strong and fast-paced, keeping the reader interested despite the unsympathetic main characters.
By the end, the reader is deeply invested, particularly as India comes to explore her roots. In fact, I would have liked for more time to have been spent on that following the climax of the suspenseful storyline.
Still and all, this is a solid first effort from Carver, evidently well-researched and very well-written.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was Carver's first novel and it is a cracker. The story begins with the event behind the title when a group of Aborigine men are attacked and killed in cold blood in a small town set deep in the Australian outback. This sets the scene for continued blood shed in this area years later as a pharmaceutical company takes racism to a whole new level. Thrown into this is India Kane a journalist on a journey to discover her long lost family with the help of her life long friend Lauren. Following the gruesome murder of her friend along with a local cop India is charged with murder and left to battle against the charges and the immense power of the pharmaceutical company with the help of ex-cop Mikey. Carver has created a complex yet readable storyline, which has very realistic overtones and the kind of power hungry disciminates that all too occasionally pop up in the real world. Overall a good thrilling read that twists and turns just enough to keep you guessing without confusing you completely.

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

BLOOD JUNCTION – G
Caroline Carver – 1st book
When journalist India Kane travels from Sydney to the outback town of Cooinda for a reunion with her friend, Lauren, she has no idea of the town's appalling history. Forty years earlier an entire aboriginal family had been massacred there. Picked up by an off-duty cop when her car dies en route, India arrives in Cooinda to find that Lauren has disappeared. The next day Lauren's body-and the cop who helped India-are found murdered. India, the last person to have seen the cop alive, is arrested for murder. India knows that she has been framed for the murder, and resolves to find out why Lauren died. In time, she ties these deaths to the earlier massacre and discovers a beautiful, yet awful truth about her own history.

While this book provides an excellent sense of the Outback of Australia and provides a picture of the appalling treatment of the Aborigines, the plot lacked continuity and plausibility.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you love great mystery series, the India Kane series is the one for you. India Kane is a journalist from London and now living in Australia. When she went to visit her best friend Lauren, she's arrested for her murder and winds up in jail. Surely she believes it's a mistake and is released, when someone else is in jail, and she discovers what Lauren was investigated that ended up getting her killed. When she investigates it herself, she ends up in deep trouble, while she discovers what happened to her family and the story behind her family tree. Plenty of twists and turns with a heinous twist.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aussie thriller - journalist India Kane hopes to meet friend at Blood Junction and discovers a living grandfather she wasn’t aware of that her friend has found for her. Instead India finds herself in jail accused of murdering her friend. Befriended by a detective, an inmate and an aboriginal - India uncovers a plot by a group of wealthy brilliant racists who use a medical test facility to contaminate aboriginals and eliminate them. India also finds she’s part Abo and has a family she knew nothing of.

Is much better than I describe. Good read.

[Sandy Hall · Rating 1 out of 5]

This started out promising, but quickly devolved into ridiculous. The police immediately deem India guilty of murder, to the point where a sheriff assaults her and dumps her in with a male prisoner over night. As soon as her alibi is corroborated, she jumps to the conclusion that the man who had been hiding her, is guilty. A kangaroo is hung right outside a home without anyone hearing anything - and it actually managed to get more ridiculous from there. Add in the awkward and incredibly obvious romance - horrible.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book, especially for a first book. She has written books since this one and I would be inclined to read them when I come across them.

This is in the mystery, suspense area. She does a good job with the characters and the plot.

The plot is very comples for a first book and she is able to handle it well.

A good read.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

[Ltorrealba · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't decide what to make of this book, or if I recommend it. It took a while to draw me in, but about halfway through I got really hooked- even stressed out by the tense drama. The main character seemed a bit unbelievable but I liked her - sometimes too trusting, sometimes too skeptical, too lucky at narrowly escaping, too unlucky for ending up in so many harrowing situations. I guess it was a good book for killing time on a business trip.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently picked this up off a discount book table at a used bookstore as I thought it might be a good read. I did not expect to be as captivated by the plot and characters as I was. I had a hard time putting it down and found that Carver did an excellent job building a web of events that are deeply connected. It is definitely an excellent read and I'll pick up more books by this author!

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another read for the International Women of Mystery. Must be quite compelling - read it in two days. Interesting premise - not sure if I was sold on it though.

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

RATING: 2.5

[Carole]

Nice debut novel. Had trouble finishing the last few chapters since it was rather predictable. I'd like to give another one of her books a try.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a slow start and a little herky-jerky at times. Enjoyable with a good ending that keeps you reading.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good story. not the greatest page turner but easy to read

[Mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. It was nice to read something from Australia and learning something new.